Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
i like steinbecks writing, though i‘m not really into the theme of ww2. i‘m kind of excited to read east of eden though, since i still have it at home
Steinbeck had a great gift. He was able to drag you in to his writing that you could almost feel the sand of italian beaches or the air of north african cities.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Some really amazing and heartfelt stories. Not all of them are gems but it includes some of the best short essays I have read on war.
It’s really impressive how much Steinbeck is able to convey in 2 page long stories
John Steinbeck has always been among my favorite authors. I read some of his books before I started high school. Somehow I missed Once There Was a War. I did not know that Steinbeck had been a war correspondent during the Second World War. This book was a collection of articles he wrote for the New York Herald Tribune in 1943. He wrote about people he met and the work they were doing. This is not a book about stategy or tactics or great events. In this book we read about troop ships, airfields and vehicle repair depots and people doing their part. Steinbeck choose to leave these stories just as they were printed originally with censored portions and the exact locations left out. Somewhere in England was the opening line of many of the chapters. I am often surprised and pleased to discover that John Steinbeck's lesser known works are as well written as the famous ones. Once There Was a War really does capture the spirit and time when our whole country was focused on a common purpose. Perhaps we need some of that focus today.
Once There Was a War is one of the rare non-fiction books (gems) by Steinbeck. After his critical and commercial success with his previous work as a writer, John Steinbeck went to WWII as a reporter. This book is a collection of the reports for New York Herald. Reports for a newspaper about a war might seem boring at first glance, however, this book is far from it. Instead of reporting dry facts about the the strategies and movements of the troops, Steinbeck reports the human aspect of the war. As a novelist (as opposed to a journalist) Steinbeck knows exactly how to convey the stories on how the soldiers and officers feel about the war, what they do to entertain themselves, how the common soldier lives and breathes in the situations of tumult. The book is filled with colorful characters and anecdotes. An absolute must read for anyone who is interested in WWII.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced